BINGHAMTON – After the Press Building was severely water damaged in 2010 from the nearby Midtown Mall fire, work continues to restore and re-purpose the landmark property.

The 19 Chenango St. building is part of a growing downtown development scene with a new focus on mixed-use structures. A proposal has been submitted to Binghamton's Planning Commission from 19 Chenango Street Associates LLC to redevelop the 12-story, 92,400-square-foot building into housing units and a ground floor commercial tenant.

Under the proposal, 11 of the building's 12 floors would be turned into 68 housing units with 231 bedrooms. An unnamed ground floor commercial tenant would use 4,200 square feet of space.

The ground floor would also feature 6,254 square feet of gym and recreation space and a 424-square-foot laundry room. Housing units would be broken into 13 studio or one-bedroom apartments, 11 two-bedroom apartments, two three-bedroom apartments, 31 four-bedroom apartments and 11 six-bedroom apartments, according to the proposal submitted to the city.

Local developer Mark Yonaty sold the property to the developers in August 2013 for $2.1 million. Yonaty spent at least $3 million renovating and repairing the structure after it was damaged from the December 2010 fire in the adjacent former Midtown Mall building. Before the fire, a number of tenants had office space in the Press Building.

Citing an agreement with the new owner, Yonaty declined to disclose who is behind 19 Chenango Street Associates LLC, which was formed in April 2013 and is based at a Binghamton post office box.

Merlene Anteby is listed as a member of 19 Chenango Street Associates LLC in mortgage records signed by Anteby and filed in the Broome County Clerk's Office last August. She could not be reached for comment.

The individual developers have been represented by Sarah Campbell of Hinman, Howard & Kattell of Binghamton during public city meetings. Campbell could not be reached for comment.

Additional holdups have also affected the current owners' bid to redevelop the building.

Greater Binghamton Development LLC, owned by Yonaty, foreclosed on the property July 22 due to unpaid taxes. Yonaty said the issue has since been resolved and he is discontinuing the foreclosure.

The developers submitted a redevelopment project for site plan review to the planning commission in June 2013. The plan was approved by the commission in September 2013, as long as the facade fits with the reconstruction of 83 Court St, now University Lofts, and additional elements such as window planters and bicycle parking were added.

Due to its location downtown in a commercial district, off-street parking wouldn't be required for the building where no parking currently exists. The State Street parking garage abuts the property.

City Director of Economic Development Robert Murphy said Yonaty's renovations before the fire were a step in the right direction for Binghamton, and redeveloping the property would benefit downtown.

"Buildings like the Press Building and the Security Mutual building, they're kind of the landmarks — physically and economically," Murphy said.

The trend to develop mixed-use properties in downtown areas across the country is tied to convenience, Murphy said. Commercial, retail and residential spaces are no longer separated from each other.

"People want to live in a place you don't have to walk far to get to the goods and services you need," Murphy said.

Two recent major downtown developments follow this model.

Greater Binghamton Development LLC was selected June 4 as the preferred developer to construct a $4 million, five-story building at 70-72 Court St. featuring market-rate housing and ground-level retail space.

The next day, Newman Development Group was chosen to repurpose the Collier Street parking garage as a mixed-use building with ground-floor commercial space, about 600 parking spots and top-floor housing for $38 million.